Note:
This does not purport to be, nor is
it, a list of all the locations where
A.A. historical items may be found.
Surely various individual AAs and
12 Step people, historians and writers,
recovery groups, treatment facilities,
substance abuse libraries, religious
institutions, non-profits, research
facilities, and universities, have
bits and pieces of our historyâsome
large and some small. And A.A.âs General
Service Office certainly maintains
archives and some books, but access
is limited. State and area archives
also have collections of one sort
or another. Indeed, there are some
private collections which still exist
and can be unearthed with effort.
The sites here are simply those in
which I have personally been involved
or which I know to be large enough
to warrant inclusion. They are of
particular and unique importance to
the extent that they present, as a
whole, a fairly complete picture of
all the spiritual history and roots
of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The
Griffith House Library at the Wilson
House, Village Street, East Dorset,
Vermont

For
a decade, Ozzie and Bonnie Lepper
have been inviting and receiving A.A.
historical materials of all kinds
to become a part of the Wilson House
historical treasures. Then, about
five years ago, I began urging some
of my benefactors to contribute funds
for or make actual donations of most
of the 23,900 historical items in
my Maui research library on Maui.
Today, most of those items are located
at the Wilson House. Check the Wilson
House website for more details. I
believe this is the largest, most
accessible, and most comprehensive
library in existence of temperance,
pre-A.A., Oxford Group, Shoemaker,
Biblical, recovery, and A.A. history
and literature. This library just
had its Grand Opening in July 25,
2005. I have prepared video and audio
presentations about the library, and
these will soon be posted.

The
Traveling Archives of Ray G., Archivist
at Dr. Bobâs Home

Ray
G. and his wife Ginny have a home
in Newton Falls, Ohio, and also spend
their winters in Seminole, Florida.
Ray is the archivist at Dr. Bobâs
Home in Akron. For many years, Ray
has been collecting, organizing, and
displaying all kinds of A.A. historical
materials at such places as Archives
2000 in Minneapolis, Joe and Charlie
Big Book Seminars, state and area
A.A. conferences, and A.A. History
Conferences. When Ray and Ginny appear,
the collection is there for all to
see, read, and have explainedâeven
during the busy Founders Day period
in Akron. The work is extensive and
important.

The
New Shoemaker Collection at the Shoemaker
Room, Calvary Episcopal Church, Pittsburgh

For
years, Sam Shoemakerâs Calvary Episcopal
Church in Pittsburgh has had an archivist
who knew Sam and his work, but had
few Shoemaker articles. This year,
after being on tour with Ray G., my
entire Shoemaker collection was, by
two benefactors, donated outright
to Calvary Church in Pittsburgh. It
contains almost all Samâs books, sermons,
articles, and pamphlets, and many
personal journal entries, letters,
memos, and other data obtained from
Hartford Seminary, Princeton University,
Episcopal Church Archives in Texas,
Mrs. W. Irving Harris (who ran the
book stall at Calvary House and whose
husband was Samâs Assistant Minister),
as well as books purchased or collected
from all over the world. Calvary has
an extremely knowledgeable archivist
Susie who knew Sam, who is conversant
with the library contents, and who
has lots to tell. The collection is
housed in the Shoemaker Room at Calvary.

The
Annex at Dr. Bobâs Home in Akron,
Ohio â adjacent to 855 Ardmore Avenue

Long
after Dr. Bobâs Home was acquired
and opened, its trustees began collecting
books pertaining to the early program.
I persuaded Dr.Bobâs son Smitty to
donate most of his portion of his
dadâs books to Dr. Bobâs Home. His
sister Sue Windows sold most of her
portion to Brown University. The library
in Akron is voluminous, but the booksâthough
visible on their shelvesâare mostly
under lock and key. It is doubtful
that any of the fine volunteers could
answer any questions about the books;
and Dr. Bobâs Home has declined to
keep any of my titles there which
could, would, and do explain just
about every book and its contents.

The
Akron Intergroup Archives, Elma Street,
Akron

Gail
L. has spent many years during Founders
Days in Akron presenting the historical
books and materials she was able to
collect. Later, she was given the
position of Archivist for the Intergroup,
and an excellent display of pictures
and memorabilia is located at the
Akron Intergroup Office. Still more
materials are in a locked room there.
Gail frequently gives talks on the
history and historical materials.
She knows her onions.

The
A.A. Library at Dr. Bobâs church,
St. Paulâs Episcopal Church in Akron

The
current rector at St. Paulâs Church
in Akron has enabled and facilitated
many of the donations of A.A. history
books to prisons, intergroups, history
locations, and to some of the sites
above. In addition, the library has
a small, but important collection
of books on A.A.âs spiritual history.
Dr. Bob became a communicant at St.
Paulâs shortly before his death.

The
Gate Lodge (the former home of Henrietta
Seiberling) at Stan Hywet Museum and
Gardens in Akron

Very
recently, this historic spot where
Henrietta Seiberling introduced Bill
Wilson to Dr. Bob Smith was opened
to the public. At the same time, explanatory
displays were placed on the walls;
a few important historical books were
placed on display; and tapes of pioneers
were made available for listening.

Brown
University Collections, Providence,
Rhode Island

Several
years ago, A.A. antiquarian bookseller
Charles Bishop sold a large collection
of early temperance, anti-saloon,
and alcoholism books to Brown University
thanks to a benefactor named Chester
Kirk. The acquisition cost was $250,000.00.
The materials are in the custody of
the Brown University Library system
under the watchful eye of Dr. David
Lewis, director of the addiction studies
program there. Shortly before her
death, Dr. Bobâs daughter Sue Smith
Windows sold a portion of her collection
of Dr. Bobâs books and memorabilia
to Brown, where they now repose. The
larger portion of Dr. Bobâs books
is not there, but rather at Dr. Bobâs
Home and in my Co-founder Collection
which we hope to place at Griffith
Library soon. I believe other historical
materials, including some of my own,
are part of the Brown collection.

Hazelden
Pttman Archives, Center City, Minnesota

Over
a long period of years, Bill Pittman,
an author and publisher of recovery
books, began collecting and making
available a very large number of books
and pamphlets ( particularly those
pertaining to A.A.âs spiritual roots),
to Hazelden Foundation. At a major
conference of A.A. historians at Hazelden,
the collection was dedicated; and
Pittman later became Director of Historical
Information at Hazeldenâa position
he no longer occupies.

Stepping
StonesâThe Home of Bill and Lois Wilson,
Bedford Hills, New York

When
I visited and researched at Stepping
Stones in the early 1990âs, there
was a large library of books belonging
to Bill Wilson, practically none of
which pertained to A.A. There was
also a library of spiritualist and
psychic books representing Billâs
personal involvement in those activities.
There was a large quantity of historical
manuscripts and papers of Billâs that
were directly related to A.A. history,
but they had not been organized or
catalogued. I was allowed to study
and make copies of most of that material
and included it in The Co-Founders
Collection mentioned below. Later,
an A.A. historian named Earl H. informed
me that he had a huge collection of
A.A. history books and that he had
donated them to Stepping Stones. But
I have never seen either the collection
or an inventory of it; however, I
believe whatever is there can readily
be identified by contacting the affable
executive director for information.

The
Co-Founders Collectionânow on loan
to Dr. Karen Plavan in Pittsburgh
as Curator and Custodian

As
related above, I saw Dr. Bobâs Libraryâwhich
tells so much about what early AAs
did and studiedâsplit between the
inaccessible stacks at Brown University
and the locked shelves at Dr. Bobâs
Home. Further, there are books owned
and read and circulated by Dr. Bob
that are not part of either library.
See Dick B., Dr. Bob and His Library;
The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual
Growth; and Making Known the Biblical
Roots and History of A.A.. I also
realized that most of the original
manuscripts either written or described
by Bill Wilson had never been made
available until Hazelden finally published
an autobiography which I have and
which Bill Pittman also obtained from
Stepping Stones. I also knew that
the original contents of Anne Smithâs
spiritual journal (which I obtained
through authorization of the Trustees
Archives Committee) from GSO archives
had never been seen, published, or
even reported until I wrote my Anne
Smithâs Journal, 1933-1939. I therefore
held on to these items so they could
be placed as a unit, travel widely,
and be posted on the internet if that
were funded. There is a large collection
of materials pertaining to Clarence
H. Snyder. The funding, though not
yet complete, is substantially complete.
And we still need to raise $15,000.00
to pass ownership of the collection.
But I shipped this collection to Karen
Plavan, Ph.D., former professor of
counseling and chemical dependency
at Penn State and presently Vice President
of a global outreach ministry headquartered
in Pittsburgh and named GOAL. Dr.
Plavan is curator and custodian; and
when the acquisition funding has been
completed, she and I will work out
a plan for making this vital historical
material available in a permanent
location, available for tour, and
usable for posting on the internet.
The main and permanent repository
will probably be the Griffith Library
in East Dorset, Vermont as, when,
and if we receive the remaining $15,000.00
needed.

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